Reforestation in the Mountains

“When we moved to this area [in 2005 after Hurricane Stan] most of the trees in this forest had been cut by other communities living here. Those of us families from Chuicutama living here at the time decided to buy 300 acres of this mountain and re-plant trees so that our children would have a forest to sustain them… with the interest we are saving and growing from the micro-credit loan program that Yabal, we hope to one day be able to buy another 300 acres of a nearby mountain to grow the forest.”

-Miguel Guarchaj, Chuicutama community leader

This year completed our second tree-planting push in the mountains near the community of Chuicutama, in Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan. We are excited to report that we planted over 1500 trees this year that will repopulate 300 acres of community-owned land. The community bought this land collectively as a way to provide a forest for their children and future generations. The area of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan has been gravely deforested over the last few years due to population growth and lack of resources for other communities, over-taxing the few remaining forests. We are inspired by the community’s vision for a sustainable green future. They understand from lived experience that humans can not live with out the resources that forests provide- such as being a water shed that will sustain local wells and springs, wood that can be used for cooking and building, and medicinal and edible plants and herbs, and more. We were joined by our supporters from the Czech org, With Love for Guatemala for the day.

DONATE HERE to our tree-planting project with the community of Chuicutama. $5 plants 10 trees!